Leading spoken audio company announces business expansion initiatives and a record number of new titles, NYT bestsellers and Pulitzer Prize winners

Landover, MD, Jan. 12, 2022—RBmedia, the largest audiobook producer in the world, today announced record-breaking 2021 performance, including entering new markets, publishing more titles than ever before, and producing audiobooks for numerous bestsellers and award winners.

RBmedia Expansion Highlights

In 2021, RBmedia drove rapid business growth in key strategic business areas, including:

• Established additional exclusive audiobook partnerships
  • Asmodee, Entangled, and McGraw Hill
  • Children’s publishers Levine Querido and Astra
  • Christian publishers InterVarsity Press, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, and 1517 Media
• Expanded into the Spanish and German-language markets
  • Acquired Booka’s audiobook publishing business and catalog of Spanish-language titles
  • Launched a new Spanish-language audio brand, BookaVivo
  • Purchased leading German audio publisher ABOD
• Entered the self-published audiobook distribution market
  • Acquired Author’s Republic, the only independent, open audiobook system that enables audiobooks from emerging authors to be distributed everywhere
• Strengthened its top position as the leading business audiobook producer
  • Launched a new dedicated business audio brand, Ascent Audio
  • Acquired McGraw Hill Professional’s audiobook publishing business

RBmedia Publishing Highlights
RBmedia remained the undisputed leader in the spoken audio market with a catalog of nearly 60,000 audiobooks, the largest in the industry. In 2021, the company produced a record number of new titles across its 10 publishing brands—dominating bestseller lists and major industry awards. Highlights of the year include:

• Released more than 7,500 new titles across its 10 audio brands—the most audiobooks the company has ever produced in a year
• Experienced a dramatic surge in sales for its longtime bestselling Bridgerton series audiobooks following the hit Netflix adaptation
• Published the audio for a record-breaking 65 New York Times bestsellers
• Produced numerous highly anticipated audiobooks
  • “Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone,” the latest in Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling Outlander series
  • A new audiobook edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” series, narrated by Andy Serkis
  • “A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas, the fourth book in the ACOTAR series, which is currently being adapted for screen by Hulu
• Produced audio titles for numerous literary award winners in 2021
  • Three Pulitzer Prize winners
  • One Academy Award winner
  • One Audie Award winner and four finalists
  • Six Hugo Award winners and four finalists
  • Reese Witherspoon’s October Book Club Pick
  • Four Audible and one Apple Books Best of 2021 selections

RBmedia International Highlights
In 2021, RBmedia international brands W.F. Howes (WFH) and Wavesound also experienced record growth.

• Produced top-selling audiobooks, including:
  • “The Missing Sister” by Lucinda Riley
  • “Powers and Thrones” by Dan Jones
  • “1979” by Val McDermid
• Launched the WFH Originals imprint for audio exclusives
• Signed a landmark audio deal for “Gallant” by V. E. Schwab, author of the blockbuster “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue”

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About RBmedia
RBmedia is the largest audiobook producer in the world. With nearly 60,000 exclusive titles, our audiobooks continually dominate key literary awards and bestseller lists. The company’s powerful digital retail and library distribution network reaches millions of listeners around the globe—at home, in the car, and everywhere their mobile devices go. Our titles are available on leading audio platforms, including Audible, iTunes, Google Play, Audiobooks.com, OverDrive, Hoopla, and many more. RBmedia is owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm. Find out more at rbmediaglobal.com.